The shift to a market economy and strong
economic growth in Vietnam have led to an
increase in the demand for education and
training services. The Ninth Communist
Party of Vietnam Congress in April 2001
re-established education and training as the
first priority for the Vietnamese
Government, with the Vietnamese Government
encouraging the private sector and overseas
education and training providers to
contribute to the development of Vietnam’s
education and training system. A new
Education Law was promulgated in June 1999
to provide a legal framework for education
and training activities in Vietnam and
regulations on overseas involvement have
been issued. Reforms are currently
occurring in all education sectors with
support from the Vietnamese Government and
donors, including the Australian Government,
World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Australian Education International (AEI)
is the public face of the Australian
Government’s commitment to the international
education and training industry. Part of
the Commonwealth Department of Education,
Science and Training (DEST), AEI seeks to
promote Australia as a source of high
quality international education and training
and advanced science and technology,
ensuring that Australian institutions stay a
step ahead in the international market.

As the official Australian Government
representative, AEI Vietnam has been
supporting and facilitating the growth of
Australia’s international education and
training sector in Vietnam since 1994. With
offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, AEI
Vietnam has experienced people to provide
advice on education and training to the
Australian and Vietnamese Governments,
education and training providers and other
interested organisations. AEI Vietnam aims
to

Co-operate with the Vietnamese
Government on education and training
matters;

Enhance Australian participation in
education, training and research in
Vietnam;

Build links between Australian and
Vietnamese education, training and
research institutions;

Provide information in Vietnam about
Australian education and training
courses through our Australian Education
Centres and outreach services;

Facilitate the formation of
Australian alumni groups to enhance the
relationship between Australia and
Vietnam;

The Australian Education Centres (AECs),
run by AEI Vietnam and located in the same
building as the Australian Embassy in Hanoi
and the Australian Consulate General in Ho
Chi Minh City respectively, are uniquely
placed to offer quality counselling services
to students.

Students and interested people can visit
the AEC for information and impartial advice
on study opportunities and living in
Australia. The AEC provides students with
information on Australian institutions and
courses through publications and using the
latest technologies. Free access is
available to computers and CD-ROM, the
Internet, TV and VCR for viewing institution
videos and CDs.

People can do private research or work
one to one with an AEC counsellor.

Opening hours are 9:00 am to 11:30 am and
1:30 pm to 4:30 pm hours from Monday to
Friday. In addition, AECs conduct monthly
information seminars on various aspects of
studying and living in Australia.
Interested students, parents and others are
welcomed to the seminars for group
interaction with our knowledgeable AEC
staff, people who have studied in Australia,
and representatives of Australian schools,
colleges and universities.

The Australian Education and Training
System is highly regarded in Vietnam.
Australia is the market leader in education
services in recruiting students for offshore
studies. In early 2001, approximately 3,740
Vietnamese students were studying in
Australia with three-quarters of the total
being full fee-paying private students.
Australian Agency for International
Development (AusAID) offers 150 scholarships
annually and Australian Department of
Defence, Australian Federal Police (AFP) and
Australian Centre for International
Agricultural Research (ACIAR) also offer
scholarships or study support to Vietnamese
students. In addition, AEI Vietnam is
currently managing the University of
Queensland Masters Scholarship Program of up
to 48 masters scholarships annually to
graduates of nominated Vietnamese
universities. These scholarship programs
and other co-operative projects are
contributing to the development of human
resource capability in Vietnam and help to
promote and further foster the goodwill and
co-operation between Australia and Vietnam
that already exists in the area of education
and training.

In Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other
major cities, demand for education and
training is especially high in such areas as
English language training, business and
management training and information
technology. The emerging middle class is
gradually becoming an important market for
education and training services in the near
future.

The number of Vietnamese studying
Australian courses in Vietnam was
approximately 1,500 in 1999 and grew to over
2,900 in June 2002[1].
Approximately 25 Australian institutions
have so far had 75 in-country courses in
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in higher
education, vocational education and
training, and English language training.
These courses were either conducted by
Australian instructors delivering courses in
country, through collaborations with
Vietnamese education and training
institutions and by distance education.
RMIT International University Vietnam, the
first 100% foreign owned university in
Vietnam, officially came into operation in
mid 2001 in Ho Chi Minh City and is further
enhancing Australia's education
pre-dominance in Vietnam. It is estimated
that this university once fully established
will deliver courses to approximately 10,000
students each year. Swinburne University of
Technology and Vietnam-Australia Building
Industry Services (VABIS) have recently
applied for a licence to establish
Swinburne-VABIS University of Technology in
Ba Ria-Vung Tau province with a campus in Ho
Chi Minh City.